Transformers 3 in 3-D? Not if Michael Bay Has Anything to Say About It

02.03.10 by BJSprecher

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According to a recent Variety article, Hollywood's demand for 3-D movies is so strong right now that many studios are looking overseas for companies that can provide the conversion technology. One such company, Stereo Pictures of Korea, expects to receive orders for as many as 19 3-D film conversions in 2010, a demand that will require the company — currently employing only 60 people — to train as many as 750 new 3-D artists and engineers.

Stereo Pictures president Sung Young-seok said that the company is currently converting Cats and Dogs 2 for Warner Bros. and that it has bids in for three other Warner films, including one for Michael Bay. Could this mean that Transformers 3 will be in 3-D? Unfortunately for 3-D fans, that prospect seems unlikely. At least, not if Bay has anything to say about it.

Just prior to winning the ShoWest 2009 Vanguard Award for Excellence in Filmmaking, Bay told the press that 3-D technology "might be a fad" and that it isn't suited to his style of "old school" filmmaking.

The way I shoot, it's too aggressive for 3-D cameras, you know? It's a time-consuming thing. And, they haven't come up with a system where you can shoot it very aggressive, in terms of how you use the cameras. Everything's so precise.

In addition to Bay's personal preference for "anamorphic lenses" over digital cameras, another obstacle is time. The time-intensive nature of 3-D conversion makes it unlikely that Transformers 3, which is only being scouted at this time, could be filmed, edited, and converted in time for its July 1, 2011, release date. It's far more likely that the Bay film in question would be one of the many projects that he is producing.